Changing Times
by Settiai
Summary: He wondered when this life had become normal to him. :: Fourth Doctor, Harry, Sarah Jane


Harry Sullivan shivered as a cold wind blew past him, cutting through his thick coat as if it wasn't even there. A few snowflakes trickled around them, and the quickly darkening sky seemed to promise that their numbers would soon increase.

"Doctor!" he called out, grunting as he almost lost his footing on the icy ground. "I must admit, this doesn't look much like Scotland to me."

Beside him, Sarah Jane laughed. "I think the two moons were a bit of a giveaway," she said lightly, looping her arm in his. "Not to mention the blue trees."

"They look more like violet to me," Harry said dryly.

The Doctor continued walking ahead of them, pointedly ignoring them both.

Harry opened his mouth again before wearily shaking his head and closing it. "Oh, what's the use?"

Sarah squeezed his arm. "Don't worry," she said gently. "You get used to it."

"That's what I'm afraid of," he muttered in reply.

The Doctor finally turned around, stopping so suddenly that Harry and Sarah almost ran into him. "Are the two of you quite finished?"

Harry looked away, well aware that there was probably a sheepish look on his face. Beside him, Sarah's hand slipped from his arm down to his hand.

"We were just wondering if you knew where we were," she said innocently, "since it's fairly obvious this isn't Scotland."

The Doctor shot her a disgruntled look. "Of course I know where we are," he protested. "Name one time I haven't known where we were."

Harry held up his free hand and started ticking off fingers. "Well, for starters. . ."

"Yes, yes, yes." The Doctor waved his own hand, cutting Harry off before he could get started. "You humans always remember the most minute things."

Gaping, Harry started to protest. The Doctor turned around and started walking again before he had a change to speak.

With a soft laugh, Sarah leaned in and rested her head on his shoulder. "That means 'no,'" she translated softly. "He just doesn't want to admit to it."

"You do realize that I can hear you?" the Doctor asked dryly, glancing back at them.

Sarah pulled Harry forward, so that they were equal with the Doctor. "Are you going to deny it?" she asked, grabbing the Doctor's hand with her free one.

With a slight smile, the Doctor met Harry's gaze over Sarah's head. He gestured down at her, and for once Harry had no trouble understanding the Time Lord. Grinning himself, he nodded and silently mouthed: "one, two, three."

At the count of three, both of them pulled their hands up. Sarah Jane let out a surprised shriek as she was lifted off the ground, held up by the grips. It quickly turned to laughter as they brought her back down to the ground.

She yanked her hands out of theirs, punching them both lightly in the arms. "Very funny," she grumbled, though she didn't stop smiling. Then, shaking her head, she grabbed their hands again and continued walking in between them.

"In all seriousness, Doctor," Harry asked after a moment or two had passed, "can you at least tell us why we're here? The Brigadier seemed quite insistent that we return to Earth as quickly as possible."

The Doctor shook his head. "For the last time, the TARDIS is a time machine. We can make as many side trips as we like without Lethbridge-Stewart having to wait even a minute for us to arrive."

Harry glanced down at Sarah. "He didn't answer my question, did he?"

"It didn't sound like it," she said with a quiet laugh.

Somewhere in front of them, far in the distance, there was a large explosion. A plume of green fire flew up, lighting the horizon and giving everything from the sky to the falling snow an emerald hue.

The Doctor's face lit up, and his pace suddenly increased. "There you go," he said, not even glancing at them. "There's something odd going on here that needs looking into."

Harry met Sarah Jane's gaze as they were pulled along. She shrugged, but it was obvious from the grin on her face that she was just as excited as the Doctor.

Shaking his head, Harry let them pull him forward. Despite himself, he couldn't help but feel just a hint of excitement himself. The fact that perhaps he had been traveling with the Doctor too long crossed his mind, but he quickly pushed it aside for the time being. There wasn't any use thinking about things that couldn't be changed.

He'd worry about that later, whenever they finally arrived in Scotland to help the Brigadier and UNIT with whatever problem they had come across. Until then, it was best to keep his mind on the present. Those green flames had him a bit worried, if he was perfectly honest with himself.

Admittedly, so did the bright red dragon that had just appeared in the distance.


End file.
